From nonattainment to attainment — redesignation also settles a maintenance plan to 2038 and motor vehicle emissions budgets
The Environmental Protection Agency redesignated the Cleveland area to attainment of the 2015 ozone standard. Along with the change of designation came a maintenance plan through 2038, motor vehicle emissions budgets for 2032 and 2038, and inspection program certifications.
Document overview (primary data)
- Document typeRule
- AgencyEnvironmental Protection Agency
- Citation91 FR 39019
Key points
- The Environmental Protection Agency redesignated the Cleveland area to attainment of the 2015 ozone standard.
- Alongside the change came approval of a plan for maintaining the standard in the area through 2038.
- Motor vehicle emissions budgets for 2032 and 2038 for volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides were found adequate and approved.
- Transportation plans must conform to those budgets or federal funding is unavailable, tying air plans to infrastructure planning.
- Certifications of an enhanced vehicle inspection and maintenance program and a clean fuel vehicle program were approved at the same time.
1What changing a designation means
In the air regime, an area failing the standard is nonattainment and one meeting it is attainment. Where control measures bear fruit and measured values fall below the standard, a state may request redesignation. Improved readings alone, however, are not enough.
- 1The state requestsShowing improvement in measured values and seeking redesignation
- 2A maintenance plan is presentedA plan for holding the attained state into the future
- 3Motor vehicle budgets are setCeilings on emissions from vehicles for future years
- 4The agency approvesWhere statutory requirements are met, the designation changes
Here the redesignation came with an approved maintenance plan running to 2038. Proof of being clean now is not enough; a plan for staying clean is required. Redesignation is not an ending but the start of the next stage.
2Motor vehicle budgets
A motor vehicle emissions budget caps emissions arising from traffic in the area. Transportation plans such as new or widened roads must conform to that budget or federal funding is unavailable. The air plan is thereby tied to transport infrastructure planning, which is why future-year budgets are settled at redesignation.
3Adjusting a deadline
The rule also adjusts the deadline for submitting plan revisions for the serious classification. Nonattainment areas are graded by how hard attainment is, with heavier requirements at higher grades. The Cleveland area has been redesignated to attainment, but requirements for the serious classification had applied at the prior stage, and their handling is settled at the same time.
4Inspection programs
Among the approvals is certification of an enhanced motor vehicle inspection and maintenance program: periodically testing emissions from vehicles in use and requiring repair where they fail. It is how emissions from the existing fleet are held down, built into the air plan.
This site separately covers regulation of emissions from products themselves, showing that air control is assembled from different instruments for different kinds of source.
Why it matters
Because air plans and transportation planning are joined through emissions budgets, redesignation reaches the funding of road projects. Redesignation ends nothing; it opens the maintenance stage.
FAQ
Does a designation change once readings improve?
What are motor vehicle emissions budgets for?
Sources (primary)
Source: Federal Register (federal documents, public domain). Links go to the official site.